Baling-press.



v No. 894,876. PATBNTED AUG. 4, 1908.

G. GLARK.

BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22 190'7.

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APPLICATION IILED'AUG.22,1907.

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BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1907.

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Euro pump 0. CLARK. BALING PRESS.

No. 894,876. I PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22,1907.

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BALING PRESS. APPLiOATION FILED AUG.,22,1907.

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Stream up No. 894,876. PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908.

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BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILEDAUGLZZ, 1907.

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No. 894,876. PATENTED AUG. 4, 1908. C. CLARK.

BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22,1907.

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FEE-57 FIE-1211B EQ DE] PATENTBD AUG. 4, 1908.

C. CLARK. BALING PRESS.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG.22,1907-.

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a w k M Q No. 894,876. PATENTED. AUG. 4, 1908.

- 0.0LARK.

BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1907.

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mW/////Z% 221 CHARLES cleaner ,GUEXDAN,LOUISIAN1' aniline-Panes.

' I" Specification)! Letters Patentl Application filed auguazz, i907. s ria ms. 389,716.

4 Patented Aug. 4,11903.

- To all whom it may concern'f Be it known that 1, CHARLES citizen of the United States, residing at Gueydan, in the parish of Vermilion and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements Baling- Presses; and I 'do (ice are the following to be ,afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to baling presses and has for its object to providea press which will be automatic in all of its opera tions and self-contained, that is, which will take the material as from a threshing machine, or from hand feeding, and will feed and form it into bales, tie the bales and discharge them at the rear end. In this manner, the operation of the press becomes substantially continuous from the time the material is fed in at one end until itsdischarge in complete bales at the other. a 3

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the invention,Figure 1 is a side elevation of a press embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a similar view from theother side; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the forward end of the press; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view; Fi 5 is a vertical sectional view through t chopper and the feedin mechanism; Fig. 6 is a transverse vertica sectionalview through the feeding mechanism; Fi s. 7 and 8 are brokendetail views of parts of the feeding mechanism; Fig. 9 is a, broken side. elevation of thehopper and feeder control ling mechanism; Fi 10 is a detail view ofa tional view of the lever forming part of the controlling mechanism; Fig. 1 1 is an enlarged. detail view of a portion of Fig. 5; Fig. 12 is a transverse sec press at the end of the baling chamber; F1g. .13 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 1313 of.

Fig. 4, looking down, showing the wire being carried forward in front of-the bale. Figs.

14, 15 and 16 are detail views of the forwardend of one of the needles; Fig.' 17 is an end elevation of the ,tying mechanism; Fig. 1-8 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 19 is.a

longitudinal sectional view of one of the tyers; Fig. 20 is a broken side elevationof one of the cutter heads; Figs. 21, 22, 23, 24,

25, 2e, 27, 2s, 29, 30, 31', 32 and 33, arede tail views of the difierent parts of one of the tyers Fig. 34 is an enlarged sectionalview of the holding mechanism;

CLARK, a-

ig. 35is aplan-view ofthe holding bar; Fig. 36 is a detail view of the needle actuating mechanism; Fig. 37 is a side elevation of the gripper controlling mechanism; Fig. 38 is a sectional view of the s'ame; Figs, 39, 40, and 41, 42, are elevation and-side views, respectively, of artsof the tying mechanism; Fi 43 is a si e elevation, part y in section, of t e clutch for controllin the tyin mechanism; Fig. 44 is a 'sectiona view of t e same-and taken on line 4444 of Fig. 43; Fig.45 is a detailview of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 43; Fig. .46 is a section view on line 46 1-46 Of 43 Fig. 47

is a top plan view of the means for. engaging with a bale and actuating the clutch to obntrol the tying mechanism; Figs. 48,49, and 50, 51, are elevation and sectional views, re:

spectively, of the same; Figs 52,53, 54 and 55, are de'tail views of the wire holding mechanism and Fig. 55 is a section on line 5555 of Fig. 54. Fig. 56, 57v and 58. are detail views ofthe hay retaining means; Fig. 59 is a detail view of. the mechanism for actuating the folder plate; and Figs. 60' and 61.are

elevation an'd sectional IVIGWS, res ectively,

of-part of the hay retainin mec anism.

Referring more particular y to the drawin s, 1 indicates the mainframe or longit'udina chamber, through which the materialis passed in being formed into the bales and tied. This frame .may be of'any. desired length and area cross section and be I formed in any suitable manner, the forward or .feeding chamber '2 being "preferably formed with solids'ides and bottom and open at the top, while the' 'rear portion or discharge end .3fis preferably formed by longitudinally-a'rran ed slats 4', the corner-slats being preferab y formed from angle iron. .The rear end "of the slatted portion 1S preferablyprovided with suitable pressure-reg'u lating mechanism; actuated by the'wheels 5;-

The entire press is'p'referably mounted upon v suitable wheels 6 and frame'Z, whereby it iiiay be readily transported from place to P ace. 4

"Reciprocally mounted in the feeding chamber. 2 is a'plunge'r8, which can be of any, desired construction, but I prefer to con- .'struct it with a solid head. 9' and rearwardl.

extending walls 10 which closely fits within,

the feedin chamber and is adapted to press the .material. forward out into the baling chamberat-the rear. The lunger ispreferably mounted upon whee s 11, (which rollback and forth. upon the bottomf-of fthe feeders 20 and 21.

chamber or the forward portion of the frame in the 'usual manner to reduce friction.

The plunger is reciprocated by means of a pitinan 12, which is secured to the head 9 in any suitable manner, and at its other end it is suitably secured to a wrist pin 13 that extends between two gear wheels 14. The gear wheels 14 are mounted upon cross pieces 15 of the main frame in any suitable manner, and each of them is engaged by a pinion 16 upon a shaft 17 that is mounted on top of the main frame and driven in any suitable manner, as b means of a drive wheel 18, said drive weel receiving power from any suitable source, (not shown).

The material is fed into a hopper 19 above the feeding chamber 2, by means of endless These feeders are mounted upon shafts 23, and each comprises a series of rods or shafts 26, that are journaled at their ends in suitable chains 27, that engage with sprocket wheels 28 on the rods 23.

Eachrod 26 is provided with a plurality of fingers 29, that are adapted to be heldat right angles to the length of the track-way when moving in their operative position, by means of cross-heads 30. Each cross-head 30 is secured to one of the rods 26 and has its ends provided with laterally-extending projections 31, which engage with the trackways and cause the rod to hold its fingers projected or retracted as the'case may be.

, The projections are preferably provided with anti-friction rollers 32 which travel in track ways 24 and 25 and assist in preventing friction. To cause the fingers to stand projected when moving in their operative position, the cross-heads 30 are caused to travel between two tracks, which will cause the heads to stand in line with the length of the chain, as for instance, the upper chain of the lower feeder and thelower length or chain of the upper feeder, but when they are to be held in their retracted position, only one of the projections 31 is in engagement with the trackway, which causes the rods 26 to be rotated so as to retract or fold their fingers substantially lengthwise of the chain.

The fingers are preferably caused to project through slots 33 in the top and bottom Walls 34 of the conveyor through which the material is passed into the hopper. The slots extend nearly to the forward ends of said walls and form shoulders 35, against which the fingers strike as the chains move forward and are thereby caused to be drawn down substantially lengthwise when starting on their return journey instead of being thrown out into the hopper in making the turn around the sprocket wheels 28. At the other ends of the race-ways shoulders or projections 36 are arranged for engaging with the inner ends of the cross-heads and causing them to be turned so as to throw the fingers outward into their operative position. The fingers of the two feeders are arranged to substantially overlap each other as they pass through the conveyor space or chamber formed by the walls 34 and vertical side walls 37, whereby they will engage with any material that may be between the feeders and carry it forward into the hopper. The race-ways are preferably pivotally secured to the side'of the hopper by means of brackets 38, which will ermit of their free ends being moved vertically to acconnnodate the position they are to occupy when receiving material. The lower race-way is longer than the upper one and extends a suflicient distance beyond its free end as to receive the material from whatever source of supply is being used, and the up or more way is preferably connected with t 1e lower race-way at its free end by means of springs 39, which will permit of sufficient movement to accommodate the passa e of large bunches of material that may iappen to be deposited between the feeders.

In the drawings, a hood 40 is shown as being connected with the rear end of the side walls 37, as by means of strap and button connections 41, and has its upper end adapted to receive material as from the end of a wind blower, shown in dotted lines at 42.

The two endless feeders are driven in unison by means of a sprocket chain 43 and sprocket wheels 44, the upper wheel 44 being connected with its shaft 23 by means of gear wheels 45 to cause the lower portions of the feeder to have the same forward movement as the upper portion of the lower feeder. Motion is transmitted to the lower feeder by means of a shaft 46, which is journaled at one side of the main frame and is connected with the shaft 23 of the lower feeder by means of a clutch mechanism, and has its forward end provided with a bevel wheel 47, which meshes with a bevel wheel 48 on the main shaft 17 of the driving mechanism. The clutch comprises a cross-head 49 on the shaft 46 and has each end provided with a lateral projection 50, which is adapted to engage with a projection 51 on a plate 52, which is eccentrically pivoted to the side of a gear wheel 53 when the feeding mechanism is not in gear, and to be disengaged therefrom when out of gear. The plate 52 is normally held in its operative position, that is in position for the projection 51 to be engaged by one or the other of the projections 50, by means of the springs 54. It is adapted to be thrown into its inoperative position, or with its projection 51 out of the path of the projections 50, by means of an elbow lever 55, which has the free end of one of its arms provided with a toe or projection 56, that is adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the projection 57 on the plate 52.

The lever 55 is actuated by means of a rod 58, which is connected therewith at one end and has its other end connected with a lever 59 pivotally mounted upon the rear side of the hopper, or the side 0 posite said feeders.-

The lever 59 is connecte with a rod 60, thatextends rearwardly through the rear wall of the hopper from a plate 61, which is-hinged at its lower edge tothe lower Side of the hopper,-as shown at 62. An exteriorly screwthreaded sleeve 63 is loosely mounted-upon the outer end of the-rod and has its inner end screw-threaded into a nut 64, secured to the outer side of the hopper. A spring 65 is seated upon the rod 60, between the inner end of the sleeve 63 and a shoulder 66 formed at the inner ,end of the .rod, whereby the plate 61 may be held yieldingly in its desired position. The gear wheel 53 meshes with a corresponding wheel 67 upon the end of the for ward shaft 23 of the ower feeder, whereby the feeders are adapted to be driven whenever the clutch mechanism is in its operative position. By arranging the parts in manner, it will be seen. that whenever the amount of material that is fed'into the hopper is greater than can be taken care of by the baling mechanism, the plate 61 will be forced over toward the rear wall of the hopper, which will cause the'levers 59 and 57 to release the clutch mechanism and stop the feeders until after the material in'the hopper has been. disposed of. By means of the sleeve 63 any desired ftension may be placed on the spring 65, so asto re uire reater or less pressure from the materia in t e hopper to force back the plate 61 and thus regulate the mechanism, as may be desired in relation to the excessive feed. The material in the hopper is fed or forced down into the feeding chamber 2 by means of a foot-press 68, which is pivotally connected at its upper end with the free end of an arm or lever 69, and, is

caused to move by means of a rod 70, which is connected with a rojection'from the upper end of said foot. he opposite ends of said arms and rod are pivotally connected to a standard 71, that is secured to the frame '1, and they are adapted to be swung upon their pivots by a rod 72, so as to reciprocate the foot-press within the hopper. The rod 72 is preferably provided with a spring connection 73, which will yield in case thefoot-press could not be readily forced down, and thereby prevent breakage. The lower end of the rod 72 is connected with the intermediate portionof an arm or lever 74, which is pivotally mounted to one side of the frame and has its free end in position to be engaged by a projection, as a roller 75, mounted upon one side ofone of the wheels 14. A spring 76 is connected with the arm 69 and with the upper portion of the standard 71 for returning the foot-press and the arm 69 to their normal or elevated position, after the lever 74 has been disengaged by theroller 75. The

I when it falls or is force rod 72 is preferably provided with a bend or shoulder 77, which is adapted to be engaged by the pitman 12, which will thereby assist in starting to withdraw the foot-press in case it should stick ands -be cau lit, and the spring 76, was not strong enoug to lift the'foot press unaided. If desired, rods 78 may be arranged across the top of the hopper to'prevent the material being carried out, as by the return movement ofthe foot-press.

As above-described, it will be seen that the material is fed into the hopper. in substantially a continuous stream, and intermittently forced down into the feeding chamber in front of the lunger, by the reclprocation of the'presse'root. As soon as the presser foot is withdrawn, which action is very rapid owing to the peculiar arrangement for operating it, the plunger starts forward and forces the contents of the feeding chamber into the forward end of the baling chamber of the press. material that is fed into 'the hopper during the forward movement of the plunger falls upon the top of the plunger,

-which closes the bottom of the hopper and remains there until the lunger is withdrawn,

5 down into the feeding chamber by the thrust of the foot-press. In this manner, the bale is gradually formed by the reci rocations of the plunger and is given the esired pressure by means of the baling wires, which have been placed in front of the bale automatically, after the first bale has been formed, the placing of the wires for the first bale being performed manually. As each feed or bundle of material is thus carried forward by means of the plunger, it is forced past dogs or catches 79, which are iv-. otally secured to the sides of the fee ing chamber and have their free ends bent at an angle so as to roject through openings in the sides of said 0 amber in position for engaging with said material and preventing its return after it has been forced into position by the plunger. In the drawings, two such dogs are shown upon each side, which are connected by a cross-piece 80 and are held in their inner or operative position by means of a s ring 81 upon their plvots. In addition to t e dogs 79, 'a hook 82 is pivotally secured at one end to the top of the frame, and has its free end located in position for passing down in front of the top of the feed or bunch of material, and thereby assist in holding it in position when the plunger returns for another feed. The forward end of the hook is inclined so as to be lifted automatically by the passage of thematerial under it, and it is normally held down by means of a spring 83 which encircles a pin or bolt 84 and engages at one end with a shoulder 85 on the end of the in 84, and at the other end with a plate 86, tfirough which the bolt passes.

The hook 82 is plrovided with a vertical slot 87, through w ich a plate or folder is adapted to be reciprocated by means of two arms 89. 'The forward ends of the arms 89 are forked, as shown at 90, and the lower arm of each fork projects through a hole 91, near the upper edge of the plate 88, whereby the plate 18 positively driven in both directions by the movements of the arms. The rear ends of the arms 89 are connected with a rock-shaft 92, which is journaled in bearings 93 on the frame and an arm 94 projects upwardly from said shaft in position for being actuated by a reciprocating bar 95. The forward end of the bar 95 is ivotally connected'with a standard 96, whlch is connected with the rear end of the plunger, and has its forward end rovided with two shoulders 97 and 98. Eac of said shoulders is adapted to en age with the roj ection 99 upon one side of t e arm 94, and thereby rock the arm so as to move the plate or folder 88 vertically whenever the bar 95 is reciprocated, one of said shoulders being adapted to move the rock-shaft in one direction and the other one to move it in the opposite direction. The intermediate portion of the bar 95 is provided with two shoulders 100 and 101, as by means of a bar or rod 102, which is connected at its ends with the bar 95, and thereby forms the two inclined shoulders 100 and 101. The intermediate portion of the bar 102 is adapted to be supported upon a shoulder or projection 103 upon one side of the ho per, preferably abovethe lever 59 and rod 60. The shoulders 100 and 101 are so arran ed relatively to the projection 103 that t ey will not engage with said projections until after the folder 88 has been moved to its limit in one direction or the other, but as soon as it has reached such limit, the engagement of said shoulders with the projection will cause the bar 95 to be lifted and the shoulders 97 and 98 disenga ed from the rojeotion 97, which will there y leave the folder in one position or the other, while the plunger is makthe greater portion of its travel.-

-nstead of permitting the material to-be fed into the hopper continuously, as above described, a rake-head 104 may be provided and actuated 0r reciprocated in any suitable manner, so as to cause its fingers or teeth 105 to project down in front of the feeders and thereby hold back the material until it is desired to discharge the same into the hopper, as for instance, when the foot-press descends, which will thus assist in separating the material in the hopper from that which is being fed in by the feeders.

v As above described, it will be seen that the material that is fed to the machine is intermittently formed into bunches and compressed to the desired extent in the baling press. The pressure is determined to a greater or less extent by the mechanism shown at the rear end of the slatted chamber 3, which permits of such chamber being conthe sides of the feeding other an tracted so as to afford the desired frictional contact upon the reviously formed bales to secure the desire pressure upon the bale that is being formed. After each feed or additional bunch of material has been forced out of the feeding chamber into the baling chamber, the plate 88 will descend and force down the loose ends of any material that may be projecting outwardly, and thereby place it in condition forbeing engaged by the ale wire and thus cause the bale to have a neat a pearance upon all sides andedges. After. t e bale has been formed in the abovedescribed manner, it is tied or bound into'its compressed form by means of an upper and lower binding wire 106 and 107, respectively, which are unwound from two reels 108 and 109 upon one side of the machine. These reels of wire are preferably placed upon the same spindle 110, side by side, and are ren dered self-adjusting to the size of the reel as by causing one side piece of the reel to slip up and down on the other side and holding it out against the underside of the reel by a spring. When it is desired to put a new reel on, the sides are pulled down and caught, and after the reels have been placed in position, the springs are let loose. A nut 111 is provided for the outer end of the spindle 110 or adjusting the tension upon the reels so as to prevent their rotating too rapidly. The wire is placed across the main frame to the rear of a completed bale by means of two needles 112, which are similar to each other, and, therefore, only one of them will be particularl described. The needles are each prefera ly in the form of asubstantially rectangular bar, which is slightly flexible to permit of the necessary movement of its free end in mani ulating the wire, as hereinafter described. t is reciprocally mounted in a bracket 113 and connected at its outer end with an arm 114, by means of a link 115. The arms 114 are rigidly secured to a crankshaft 116, which is journaled vertically upon chamber in position to reciprocate the nee les when the shaft is rocked by means of the itman 117, that is secured to the crank of t 1e shaft at one end and with the tying mechanism at the other, said shaft being referably adjustable as by means of a turn-buckle 118.

The free end of each needle is provided with a head 119, which is forked with one arm 120 dpreferably slightly longer than the provided with a grooved wheel or pulle 121, and the other arm 122 is provide with a similar wheel orIpulley 123 and is also provided with a stop or cross-piece 124, between which and the pulley 123 one of the wires is adapted to be passed and have its ends secured by the twisting mechanism.

The wire-cutting comprises two substantially duplicate structures, one for each wire, mounted upon the and twisting mechanism side of the frame 1, opposite the wire and needle-actuating mechanism, as by means of a looped or bail-like bracket 125.- Proj'eoting lnward from the bracket are two standards 126, within which is journaled a sleeve 127 having eachend exterlorly screwthreaded and adapted to receive two disks 128 at one end, and a sprocket wheel 129at the other.- In addition to the sprocket whee-l, one of the wheels is further-provided with a scalloped disk 130 and a pinion 131.-

Y dered end of the sleeve 132 are two twisterdisks 134, and upon the other end a sleeve or collar 135, which is 1provided intermediate.

its length with a shou der or projection 136.

Loosely mounted upon the sleeve 135 is a sprocket wheel 137, and upon one of the sleeves a pinion 138 and an annular collar 139, which is recessed, as at 140, for the reception of the collar-135. The recess is of a greater length than the shoulder, and a spring 141 is adapted to be placed therein for normally holding the" shoulder at one end v of the recess, yet permitting .its movement toward the other end ofthe recess, as for instance, when cutting 03 the wire by the forward movement of the holder disks 128, as will be hereinafter described.

The holder disks 128 are spaced apart, as also the twister disks 134, in any suitable manner, as by means of a washer 142 between the disks 128 and either sleeves or washers 143 between the disks 134. The

periphery of each of the holder disks 128 is provided with V-shaped notches 144, which terminate in wire holders or ockets .145 at the bottom. The twister isks are each provided with V-shaped notches 146, each terminating at its bottom with a wire holder or ocket 147. The notches of the disk of eac pair and also of-the pairs relatively to each other are set slightly in advance of each' other, so that the wire in passing through all of the pockets will stand in an inclined position in going from the wheel 123 to the wheel 121 in the arms of the needle head 119.

Adjustably secured to the side of the main frame is a holding bar 148, which is preferably loosely mounted upon two pins or studs 149 and adapted to be moved back and forth thereon by means of a shouldered adjusting screw 150. The free end of said bar is adaited to extend up between 'the holding dis s 128 in position forengaging the wire and forcing it inibetween the sides of the bar and said disks when the disks are rotated for cutting off the wire. Secured to the bracket is a cutter bar 151, which has its free end sharpened and placed adjacent-to the edge of the outer holding disk, so as to said pocket -w the wire is graduall engage the wire and cut it'off whenever said disks are rotated.

Reciprocally mounted within the sleeve 132 is a rod or bar 152, which is provided at its outer end with means for being engaged by an actuator, as collars 153. The inner end or head of said bar is provided with two wings or projections 154, each of which is adapted to fit in a corresponding recess 155 e twister heads and is rovided withan in t inclined groove or channe 156. Pivotally 'mounted.between the twister disks are two substantially L-shaped grippers 157, which have their outer ends arranged in position for engaging with the wires in the pockets 147, and holding them there during the process of twisting the ends of the baling wires together. Said ends are preferably notched or corrugated for engaging with the'wires and the other ends of said grippers are seated in the grooves 156, whereby the grippers are caused to swingupon their pivots when the rod 152 is reciprocated.

-The twister and holding disks, as above described, are located adjacent to the opening 158 in the side of the frame 1, through which the head of the wire needle is adapted rear 0 the holding disks and the other arm in front of the-twister disks and the wire between them in osition for being forced into ere they are subsequently held by the grippers and holding bar. After a bale has been tied in this manner, the needle is withdrawn, which will leave the ends of the wire in engagement with the respective holding disks and in position for en aging'with and being en aged by the bunc or feed of the new bale t at is pressed forward by the plunger: As the ba e is formed by the successive reciprocations of the plunger, unwound from the s ools and forced bac with the forward end of the bale until the bale is completed, when the needle is again thrust forward and the new. bale is bound in the same manner as before. In this movement of the wire, the end that was held by the holding disks is carried down one step by the rotatlon of said disks and the arm 120 of the head 119 isprovided with a downwardly-extending project1on or finger 159, which is adapted to engage with iprojected with one of its arms at the the wire and force it into the lower notch 146 of the twister head in position for being engaged' b the gripper when the twlsters are actuate The wlre upon and upon the'other side of the frame it passes under a roller 161, which will prevent undue friction. Upon the last-mentioned side of the frame the wire from the reel also passes over another roller 162 to prevent undue frlction as the needle moves forward to carry the wire across the baling chamber.

that side of the frame preferably passes under a roller 160 The disks, as above described,- are actuated by means of two gear wheels 163 and 164, secured to shaft 165, which is suitably mounted lengthwise upon the side of the frame 1. The corresponding sprocket wheels of the two sets of mechanism, as above described, are connected by sprocket chains 166, so as to cause them to rotate in unison and one of the wheels, as 163, is provided with only one tooth 163' so as to only turn the holdm disks one step forward each time that the w eel 163 is given a complete revolution. The other wheel 164 is provided a with a sufficient number of teeth to give the desired number of rotations to the twister disks, preferably three for each complete revolution of said wheel. As it is necessary to hold said disks stationary during a portion of the operation of tyin the bale to permit of the reciprocation of he needle, a portion of the wheel 164 is left blank or untoothed as shown at 167. In order to hold said disks against accidental rotation, a disk 168 is provided which is adapted to engage with the scallops or recesses of the disk 130, except at the instant that the tooth. 163 is engaging with one of the pinions 131, at which time a recess or cut-away portion 169 of the disk 168 stands opposite the scalloped-disk and permits the latter to move forward one step, after which it is immediately rengaged by the disk 168 and held against rotation, as hereinbefore described. There are as many scallops or recesses in the disk 130 as there are V-shaped notches in the holder disks 128, seven bein shown in the drawings, which will cause t e notches of the holder disks to be always moved into their proper position and rigidly held there until it is time to be moved forward by the subsequent action of the tying mechanism. Two of the teeth of the pinion 131 are extended out so as to engage with the blank or untoothed ortion 167 of the gear wheel 164, and there y revent the rotation of said pinion except w en its teeth are being engaged by the teeth of said wheel. The tooth 163 on the wheel 163 is so arranged relative to the teeth upon the wheel 164 that as soon as the tooth has moved the holding disks forward and thereby clamped the wlre against the holding bar 148 and also cut it off between the holder disks and the twister disks, the teeth of the gear of the wheel 164 will engage with the pinign 138 and thereby actuate the twister The bar 152 is reciprocated for actuating the rippers by means of a rock-shaft 170, Whic has two forks 171 for engaging with each of the rods 152 between the collars 153, and also with an arm 172, which is preferably provided with a roller 173 and is adapted to fit within a cam-like groove 174, formed upon one side ofthe wheel 164.

The needles are actuated by the pitman which extends down from the bracket 125 in,

position for holding said pinion in enga ement with a gear wheel 179, which is a so secured upon the shaft 165. The wheel 179 isprovided with two sets of teeth or cogs 180 and 181, each of which is adapted to give the pinion just half a revolution, whereby the needles are moved forward and held stationary during the process of clamping and cutting the wires, as before described, after which the needle is withdrawn to its original position.

The shaft 165 is rotated by means of clutch mechanism connected with one end thereof and with the adjacent end of another shaft 182, which is provided with a sprocket wheel 183 and adapted to be driven fronr the sprocket wheel 184 on the shaft 46 by a sprocket chain 185. The end of the shaft 182 is preferably provided with a socket 186, within which the end of the shaft 165 is seated and a disk 187 is rigidly secured to said socket portion. A plate 188 is pivotally secured eccentrically to the face of the disk 187 and is provided with two lateral projections 189 and 190, and is adapted to be held in its 0 erative position by means of a spring 191. he of the projections is adapted to be engaged by projections 192 upon the ends of a cross-head 193, which is secured to the shaft 165, adjacent to the disk 187.

A lever 194 is pivotally mounted at the side of the feeding chamber and has one end provided with a lock or projection 195, which is adapted to be passed through a perforation 196 in the side of said chamber to the rear of the plunger 8 and hold it in that position during a portion of the operation of completing and tying the bale. vThe forward end of said lock is preferably inclined and the side of the plunger is provided with an inclined groove or channel 197, which is nine projection 198, which is ada ted to be moved into and out of the path of t 1e projection 190 on the plate 188 and thereby cause it to be swung upon its pivot so as to move the other projection 189 into and out of the path of the projection 192 on the cross-head 193 for the purpose of throwing the twister operating -mechanism into or out of gear. The lever is adapted to be moved forward into its locking position, that is, to engage with the plungers,

y means of a spring 199, and it is adapted to be moved into its other or inoperative position by means of an inclined proeetion 200 on the face of the disk 187. T e lever isadapted to be locked or held in its inoperathe plate 188 to engage with t tive position, by means of a shoulder 201 upon the free end of a spring arm 202, which is secured to the underside of the feeding chamber and projects therefrom. The shouldoubling it upon itself with its free end 204 in engagement with the side of the spring. The lower end of the lever 194 is provided with an inclined pin or projection 205, which is adapted to engage with the rod 203 and raise the same so as to lift its free end 204 out of engagement with the spring and thereby let the spring return to its normal position adjacent to the side of the lever, while said lever 194 still stands in its locking or operative position. The upper edge of the spring is preferably provided with extensions 206, between which the rod 203 is seated and which will permit of the vertical movement of the rod by the inclined pin 205, as will be understood. l 1

As above described, it will be seen that after a bale has been completed and it is necessary to actuate the tying mechanism, the rod 203 will be moved longitudinally, so as to withdraw the spring 202 rom engagement with the lever, which will permit the spring 199 to move the lock 195 into engagement with the plunger and also to remove-the horn 198 from above the projection 190. As soon as this occurs, the spring 191 will swing the plate 188 so as to move the projection 189 outwardly into the path. of the projections 192 onthe cross-head 193, said movement being limited by causing the opposite end of e socket portion 186. As soon as the tying operation has been completed, which is done by one complete rotation of the shafts 165 and the disk 187, the inclined projection 200 will engage with a shoulder or projection 208 on the upper portion of the lever 194 and move it back into its normal position, whereby the forward end of the lock will be withdrawn from engagement with the plunger and the rear end or horn will engage with the projection 190 and swing the plate 188 so as to move the projection 189 out of the path of the pro-.

jeetions on the cross-head 193 and therebystop the operation of the tying mechanism. While the lock 195 remains behind the plunger, suitable means are provided for permitting the constant forward movement of the driving mechanism without moving the plunger to the rear.

The rod 203 is actuated or moved longitudinally by means of suitable mechanism which is adapted to be actuated by the rearward movement of the bale as it is being formed by the plunger. In the drawings, a toothed wheel 209 is shown mounted upon a shaft 210 in the forward end of an arm 211, said arm being pivotally mounted at the other end by means of a standard 212 and a sleeve 213. The wheel 209 is adapted to be adjusted so as to vary its periphery or circumference, whereby the length of the bale may be varied to suit conditions or circumstances. This adjustment is preferably secured by arranging a series of substantially triangular plates 214 upon a disk 215 and moving the plates radially by means of a plurality of levers 216, which are pivotally mounted between ears 217 on a suitable block or head 218, that is secured to the shaft 210. The plates 214 are each provided with a slot 219, through which an elongated projection 220 on the disk 215 projects, and its outer edge is provided with teeth 221. An annular plate or disk 222 is secured to the projection 220, so as to hold the plates in posltion and only permit them to be moved back and forth radially. The inner end of each plate is provided with two laterallyextendin flan es 223, between which the inner en s of t e levers 216 extend, and by means of which the plates are moved back and forth as said levers are swung upon their pivots. through inclined openings 224 in a collar 225, that is loosely mounted upon the outer end of the shaft 210 and is normally pressed forward or outward bymeans of a spring 226, which is seatedgin a cavity 227 in the block 218 for the reception of the inner end of said collar 225. The outer end of the shaft 210 is screw-threaded and a hand-wheel228 is The outer ends of the levers project mounted thereon for the purpose of forci'ngj I toward'the edge of the disk 25 and thereby carry the plates 214 outward, and thus increase the diameter of the measuring wheel. The other end of the shaft 210 is provided with a pinion 229, which is adapted to engage with a ear wheel 230 that is mounted on a' stub ax e at the end of a bracket 231, which pro'ects forward from the end of the arm 211, sai arm being bifurcated at its forward end and provided with a sleeve 232, withinwhich the shaft 210 is journaled.

The gear wheel 230, which is preferably twice the diameter of the pinion 229 is provided with a cam or projection 233, which is 

